Game apparatus.



No. 70|,4|4. Patented lune 3, |902. H. W. STANDIDGE.

GAME APPARATUS.

(Application filed Dec. 1E, 1900,)

(No Modal.)

i QQ/Jy,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY w. sTANDIDGE, 0E CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GAME APPARATUS.

SPECJFFICATIN forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,414, dated J' une Application filed December 15. 1900. Serial No. 39,937. J(No model.)

To all whom, it r11/ty concern,.-

Beit known that I, HARRY W. STANDIDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use- :ful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specication.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of game apparatus in which are employed a checkered playing-board and a plurality of different sets of movable men or gamepieces designed to be moved across the board from certain of its spaces to others thereon; and my invention has for its object to provide entertaining games of skill, which consist in certain features of novelty inthe construction, combination, and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter mentioned are attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In said drawings, Figure l is a plan view of my improved game apparatus. Fig. 2 is a cross-section thereof on theline 2 2, Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a detail view of two of the men employed, showing the obverse sides thereof.

In carrying out my invention I employ a checkered board which is preferably formed with outwardly-projecting wings l 2 3 4, arranged diametrically opposite each other and making the general plan of the board somewhat like a Greek cross, leaving between the inner corners of the arms of the cross a perfeet square. The surface of the board thus formed is provided throughout with alternating blank and Vmen spaces 5 6, which are of course interchangeable and which, if desired, may be like the spaces on an ordinary checker-board, but which in' my improved game are so arranged that one of the menspaces 6 will fall in each corner of each of the wings l 2 3 4, thus bringing two menspaces contiguous to cach other at the corner where the wings or arms adjoin one another, and thereby forming, in eiect, a double corner at each intersection ofV the wings and a single corner at each of the two outer corners of each of the wings. The common surface of the board is square and seven rows of squares long each Way of its length and breadth, and the wings are three rows of spaces long one way and seven rows of spaces long the other. It therefore differs from previously-constructed game-boards in having an odd number of men-spaces and blank spaces collectively in the various rows of said main part and wings and also in having a common center all corner-spaces of which are alike and from the four different sides of which wings uniformly project, and said board being symmetrical and uniform in all of its corresponding parts, including its single and double corners.

The board as thus "constructed is used in connection with a plurality of different sets of movable men, preferably four differentsets, one for each of the wings of the board. Any means for enabling the players to discriminate between their own men may be resorted to. In the drawings Ihave shown one set of meu with plain surfaces, another with diagonal lines extending in one direction, and another with diagonal lines extending in another direction, and the fourth with crosshatching on them, it being understood that the method of using conventional lines representing different colors followed in the Patent Office drawings may be regarded as an illustration of different colors or shades herein, which would be preferable in practice. The men of each set or series have different numbers on different sides thereof, as shown in Figs. l and 8. I prefer to employ twelve men, numbered from l to 12 on one side and from 13 to 24: on the opposite side, respeetively,in each set or series 5 but any other series of numbers will of course answer. The obverse side of each of the men is thus numbered with a number higher than that which appears on the face and also greater than any of the face numbers. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the man which is numbered l on its face is numbered 18 on its obverse side, and that which is numbered 12 on its face is numbered 24 on its obverse side, and so, also, as to the intermediate numbers. This is a most important feature, as the value'of one man may determine the result of an entire game. For example, while a man numbered l1 or l2 is greater in nu merical value than men numbered l, 2, 3,and 4, combined, yet l may become greater thanV eitherby reaching the last row of an opposing player, when the number on its obverse side may be turned upward, and it will then have a value Of 13, and this is correspondingly true of others Of the men.

These numbers on the meand their change-- able values also practically eliminatey the drawn game, so frequent in checkers, and numerous novel and interesting; games, including progressive games for a time limit or. Othf erwise under varying rules, may be very successfully played with them, and such games may be simple or exceedingly intricate, according to such rules of playing. The different sets or series of men may be disposed upon their respective Wings of the board in the manner shown in Fig. 1, with all of the men, excepting the leader or man numbered 1,, arranged on the three lines of meu-spaces which fall whollv upon the Wing and with this number l or leader arranged in advance of the Others in the next line of menspaces and at the mid-length Of the group, and when the men are thus disposed there is in the center of the board a free field-common to all Of the players.

The men as captured are placed where their facial numbers may be conveniently read by the other players, and as a convenience for this I have provided each corner of the board with a tray 7.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A checkered game-board having a main part and Wings and each of said win gs having a single corner Orman-space in each Outer corner and a double corner or double manspace at eachintersection Of thewings, substantially as set forth.

2. A checkered game-board havinga square common center the spaces in all corners of which are alike and havinga wing extending from each Of the different sides thereof, substantially as set forth.

A checkered game-board having a main part and Wings and an Odd number of menspaces and blank spaces collectively-in each row thereof extending longitudinally of the edge ofthe board in said main part and in each of said wings, including all of such spaces in each of said rows, substantially as set forth.

4. A checkered game-board having a main part and wings and a blank space at each corner of said main part and a man-space at each corner of each of said wings, substantially asset forth.

5. In a game apparatus differently-distinguished sets of movable men having different numerals on dierent sides thereof and each of such men having one numeral On one side and a higher numeral on the other side, and the numerals On the men of each set corresponding with the" numerals ou themen of each other set, substantially as set forth.

6. In a game apparatus dilferently-distinguished sets of movable men having marks of dierent numerical value on different sides thereof and such marks of value On the different sides Of each man also being Of different numerical value, all substantially as set forth.

HARRY W. STANDIDGE.

Witnesses:

EDNA B. JOHNSON, F. A. HOPKINS. 

